New Mexico (0-2) at Auburn (1-1)

6:30 p.m. CDT Saturday (ESPN2)

Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn

0 Previous games between Auburn and New Mexico.

0 Victories in two games this season for New Mexico. The Lobos opened 2024 with a 35-31 home loss to Montana State on Aug. 24 and fell to Arizona 61-39 on the road on Aug. 31. New Mexico did not play last week.

2 Sacks on back-to-back snaps for Auburn DE Keldric Faulk in last week’s game against California. Faulk became the first Auburn player to record sacks on consecutive snaps since 2003, when Reggie Torbor did it against Ole Miss. Faulk has three of the Tigers’ five sacks this season.

4 Victories without a loss for Auburn in games against Mountain West Conference opponents. The Tigers defeated Wyoming in 2000 and San Jose State in 2014, 2015 and 2022. All the games have been played at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

4 Consecutive seasons with a game against an SEC opponent for New Mexico. The Lobos lost to Texas A&M in 2021 and 2023 and LSU in 2022 to drop their mark against the SEC to 0-8. All the games have been on the road.

7 Victories without a loss for Auburn on Sept. 14. The Tigers have played as many as eight times on only one date without suffering a loss – Sept. 10, when Auburn is 8-0. On Sept. 14, the Tigers have defeated Southern Miss, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Kent State at home, Louisville in Birmingham and Ole Miss in Oxford. New Mexico has a 4-5 record on Sept. 14, including an 0-4 mark on the road.

7 TDs have been scored by the New Mexico offense this season – three TD runs and four TD passes by QB Devon Dampier.

9 Teams in the nation do not have a takeaway this season. Of those nine teams, only one – Temple with nine – has lost more turnovers than Auburn, which has had four of its passes intercepted and three of its fumbles recovered by the opposition.

9 Rushing yards are needed by Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter to become the 15th Auburn player with 2,300.

19 Years since the previous game in which a New Mexico player had at least 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards, which QB Devon Dampier accomplished in the Lobos’ previous contest. In New Mexico’s 61-39 loss to Arizona on Aug. 31, Dampier completed 24-of-42 passes for 260 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions and ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. It was the first 200/100 game for the Lobos since QB Kole McKamey accomplished the feat in a 27-24 loss to BYU on Oct. 8, 2005.

19.25 Yards per completion have been averaged by Auburn this season, which ranks second in the nation behind Washington’s 20.31. The Tigers’ 58.2 percent completion percentage ranks 13th in the SEC.

23 Consecutive games with at least one reception for Auburn WR Robert Lewis. All but the most recent two of those games came with Lewis playing for Georgia State. He had 70 receptions for 877 yards and seven touchdowns for the Panthers in 2023.

32 Consecutive homecoming games have been won by Auburn. The Tigers haven’t lost on homecoming since 1991, when Mississippi State spoiled the festivities by taking a 24-17 victory. Auburn has an 85-8-4 record in the homecoming game.

144 Games have been played by Auburn since it was most recently shut out, the second-longest streak in school history. Auburn’s most recent shutout loss came 49-0 to Alabama on Nov. 17, 2012. Auburn’s record scoring streak lasted 149 games, starting with a 55-16 victory over Richmond on Oct. 4, 1980, and ending with a 17-0 loss to Alabama on Nov. 26, 1992. Auburn’s current scoring streak is the 10th-longest in SEC history, and its record streak is the ninth-longest.

193 Games have been played by Auburn since the Tigers most recently had a punt blocked, the longest active streak in the nation. Mississippi State was the most recent opponent to block an Auburn punt in the Tigers’ 49-24 victory on Sept. 12, 2009. New Mexico most recently blocked an opponent’s punt in a 23-20 loss to San Diego State on Oct. 31, 2009. The Lobos have played 172 games since they most recently blocked a punt, the longest active streak in the nation.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Cleveland Storm team joined Lee Faria in studio for New Mexico Gameday Friday night.

Highlights from this week include La Cueva vs. Sandia, Volcano Vista vs. West Mesa, and so much more.

The Auburn Tigers look to get back on track against the New Mexico Lobos at home this week after falling to Cal on Saturday. 

Here are answers to questions about New Mexico with Sean Reider of the Albuquerque Journal.

1. When Bronco Mendenhall took the job, what changes did the fan base expect?  What culture changes have you seen around the program?

Something different. I’m not sure how many people here knew the specifics regarding Mendenhall’s previous work at BYU and Virginia, but they expected change and there’s been plenty. Players are tasked with earning everything, from workout t-shirts to jersey numbers, and have redone specific segments of practice – burning valuable practice time – if the period wasn’t done correctly in the first place. It’s a unique approach (something Mendenhall has acknowledged) that’s reshaped the culture entirely. 

2. QB Devon Dampier leads the team in passing and rushing yards. How important is he to New Mexico’s offense?

He is so important, I don’t think you could overstate it at all. Devin can run, he can throw it. He’s good in the short game, good in the intermediate pass game and can be good on deep shots as well. He gives them multiple dimensions in a way they [New Mexico] didn’t quite have last year with Dylan Hopkins at quarterback.

3. Luke Wysong has been the team’s leading receiver by a significant margin. Do you think someone else will lead New Mexico in receiving against Auburn or will someone else step up?

If I had to bet on it I would probably say Wysong to lead them. He’s a team captain, an experienced guy, has really kind of grown up in his time here in New Mexico. He’s a redshirt junior and this is really the first season where he is kind of the guy in that receiving core. There’s a reason he’s getting targets because he’s getting open.

4. New Mexico put up 39 points against Arizona. What needs to go right for them to do that again?

Another good night from Dampier for sure. Dampier was able to kind of gash Arizona on the edge with his legs, they weren’t really defending him as a runner as much as they were a passer. He made them pay for that. You just need the offensive line to stay the course and Dampier to be the best that he can be.

5. Auburn’s defense looks built to stop the run. How can Eli Sanders attack it? What are his strengths as a rusher?

Sanders isn’t the most powerful back (nor is he that big at 5-foot-11, 194 pounds) but nobody New Mexico has can freelance quite like him. He’s got a real knack for working a two-yard gain into a six-yard gain, a five-yard gain into a 12-yard gain, etc. He doesn’t have elite breakaway speed à la Oklahoma’s Gavin Sawchuk and can get caught up going east or west instead of north and south sometimes, but when he has space to work with, Sanders can make something happen. 

6. What does DB Noah Avinger bring to the table against a deep WR corps?

Versatility. He can play field corner, boundary corner, field safety, left side, right side, you name it. He’s been a leader in the secondary since he transferred in from San Diego State at midyear, and prides himself on matching the offense’s physicality at a “finesse” position. New Mexico’s been trying to manufacture depth in a banged-up secondary by having corners play safety, safeties play corners, etc. so his ability to do everything the staff could ask of him will be big in their attempts to limit some really, really talented receivers. 

Sean Reider’s Prediction: Auburn wins 56-28

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and ESPN2 will carry the broadcast.